Stuck in the middle
by Connahsquay
Summary: Korra's busy life as the young Avatar she is causes a rift between her and Mako. Which drives him back into the arms of Asami. Can they work this out or will Korra's duties overwhelm them? Continuing soon
1. Space

Stuck in the middle

_Korra's busy life as the young Avatar she is causes a rift between her and Mako. Which drives him back into the arms of Asami. Can they work this out or will Korra's duties overwhelm them?_

_Chapter 1- Space._

"Korra! Avatar Korra!" The media bellowed, the tanned girl slowly decended from the Police station doors, she had just brought down the final criminals involved with 'the revelation' all by herself.  
"Avatar Korra! Where did you get the leads? Is it true Lin Beifong has been reinstated as Cheif of police?" The press threw at her, so many questions hollered out at Korra made her head spin, but she couldn't escape them, so as she answered them, a familiar face watched her from the shadows.  
It was Mako. Since the end of the revelation they had been an item. But it wasn't easy being the boyfriend of the Avatar. Mako felt pushed aside, left out and overwhelmed by everything Korra did. They hardly saw each other, and he knew it was tearing them apart. He angrily crossed his arms over his chest and grunted, not realising his brother was at the side of him.  
"Hey, Mako, what's wrong?" Bolin asked his big brother. "Something wrong with Korra? Hey? Something wrong in paradise?"  
"Mph." Mako responded, trying to push Bolin's words out of his head. Before Bolin could interfere anymore Mako walked off through the crowds.

"Bolin!" Korra shouted when she had finished her press conference, she used what little air bending power she could to project herself over the crowds and towards her friend. When she landed, she noticed Mako wasn't there.  
"Where's Mako?" Korra pondered, looking over the hundreds of people to find him. A shocked Bolin must not have realised his brother was gone;  
"What! He was just here a second ago!" He panicked, looking around in all directions "He must have gotten lost in the crowd!"  
Korra frowned to herself, she knew why he wasn't there, her and Mako were having some troubles and they hardly saw eye to eye anymore. Korra decided not to go looking for him, maybe his just needed some space.  
"Korra?" Bolin said, concern in his voice. "Should we look for him?" Korra shook her head to him, frowning deeply, her eyes to the floor.  
"No, he just needs...space."

Mako wandered the streets of Republic city, minding his own business and pretty much ignoring the world around him. As he walked he eventually realised where he had ended up.  
'This is Asami's house.' He recalled, but then he noticed something strange; there were removal men taking out all the furniture from the house. He quickly ran over, to find a distraught Asami.  
"What's going on?" Mako asked, Asami threw herself into his arms and began crying, hugging him tightly.  
"Since my father was arrested, they've taken all of our things. I have no money, no home, nothing." Mako sighed and held Asami back, unsure on how to comfort her.  
"I don't know where to go, I don't know what to do, Mako." She cried, her tears were staining his shirt. After letting her calm down, something clicked in Mako's mind.  
"You could stay with me in the attic?" Mako offered. "And Bolin, of course." Asami's head snapped up to look at her ex-boyfriend.  
"Really?" She stuttered, tears finally ceasing. "You wouldn't mind?" And when Mako shook his head, Asami dived into him once more, hugging him around his neck, it made Mako flinch, but he soon hugged her back.  
"Come one." He sighed, patting Asami on her back "Let's get you something to eat."

Asami and Mako sat down at a table at a local noodle bar, it wasn't fancy, Mako hardly had money himself, but it seemed like the once spoilt Asami didn't mind. When their food arrived, Mako watched as Asami picked at her food. He knew she was far too, well, refined for such cheap food.  
"I'm sorry I couldn't afford to take you somewhere nicer." Mako apologized, feeling terrible.  
"It's fine." Asami replied, finally picking up a smile for him. "I better get used to this. Not having the best- no offense." Mako rolled his eyes and chuckled a little at her, before tucking into his food, soonly followed by a hungry Asami.  
"I'll just pay for this, I'll see you outside." Mako said, when they had finally finished eating. Asami nodded at him and pulled her small coat over her, it was quite cold outside and she didn't have the luxary of a car or a bigger coat to keep her warm. She watched from the door window, Mako paying for her, she couldn't help but admire him, taking her in during her time of need, being so kind and comforting. It was times like this she wished they were still together. And she couldn't help but feel it was requited. Just maybe, there was a chance.  
"Ready to leave?" Mako smirked as he walked through the noodle bar doors, Asami gave him a quick nod and walked by his side, where she began to concoct a plan in her head.  
"I'm so tired." Asami fake yawned, she leaned onto Mako's arm and wrapped her arm around his, acting as if she needed to be kept up. Mako obliged.  
"We're almost home, you can have my bed for tonight. We'll sort everything out tomorrow." He reassured her, as the pair walked into the pro-bending arena and into the attic, where Mako and Bolin lived.

"Huh, no Bolin yet." Mako mumbled under his breath, as his arm left Asami's side and he wandered around, just to check if Bolin was home or not. Asami smirked to herself, they were alone. Mako turned back and seemed to call Asami over to a doorway, obviously his room where she was to stay.  
"Here it is." Mako told her, he pointed to a pretty empty room, all it consisted of was a bed, some clothes on the floor and his pro-bending equipment. "I'm sorry, it's not much, but it will have to do for now."  
"No it's great." Asami smiled up to him, she wandered over to the bed and sat down lightly. As Mako turned to leave, Asami called out to him.  
"No please don't leave me." She sighed out to Mako, as he turned to face her, he frowned, confused. "I've been so alone recently. I'd just like to have some company." Mako couldn't bare to say no to her, after everything they had been through together, so he walked over to the bed and joined her.

"Everything will be okay, Korra." Bolin reassured her, the pair had wandered around the city as Korra spilled her problems out to Bolin. He was like her little brother, she loved him in a brotherly way, and he was always there to listen to her.  
"My brother has mad mood swings, he just needs his alone time, if you know what I mean." Bolin elbowed Korra playfully as the pair laughed, he could always cheer her up.  
"I guess so. I mean, I can always speak to him tomorrow." She responded, feeling a little lighter than before, until she remembered. "Oh yeah, I have air bending training with Tenzin tomorrow. I can't miss another session." The girl Avatar swung her head to the side, feeling sad, but Bolin tutted loudly.  
"Don't worry about it!" He bucked "I'll tell Mako to meet you at the temple, I'm sure he'll want to." Bolin gave Korra a small hug, she wasn't too bothered about hugging him back, she was tired after a very long day.  
"Thanks, Bolin." She smiled up to him, and she walked off towards the waterside, she whistled loudly for Naga, her polar bear-dog, which was waiting for her underneath the bridge, Korra jumped over the ledge and patted Naga lightly.  
"Come on girl, let's go home." Korra soothed to her friend, as the polar bear-dog dived underneath the water and towards Air temple Island.  
Bolin watched her swim away until she disappeared under the water before he headed inside to the attic. He wasn't sure if Mako would be home yet, when he was in a bad mood he'd often wonder around the city for a good couple of hours, or at least until Bolin fell asleep. With a big sigh and a stretch, Bolin walked along the corridor of the attic, heading towards his bedroom, when he noticed Mako's door open.  
'Huh, he must be home then.' He thought. He decided not to disturb his big brother, but as he passed his brothers room, he froze.  
'Wait.' He shuddered to himself, quickly darting out of sight, yet still peaking around the doorway or his brothers bedroom. 'Is that...Asami?' Bolin exclaimed in his head, he watched as Asami dug her head into Mako's chest, it almost seemed like they were back together to Bolin, but he shook his head.  
'No.' He sighed in his head, finally continuing to his own room. 'I'm sure it's nothing, it's not like they're sleeping in the same room.'

After a while of Asami holding onto Mako, he coughed, breaking her grip.  
"Is something wrong?" She questioned, attempting to hold onto him again, but Mako moved away and stood up in front of her.  
"No." He replied, with no tone to his voice, he didn't look at her, but instead looked towards the door. "Just...Goodnight Asami." He finished, before swiftly leaving the room.

Asami watched him leave as she lay back onto the bed, she clutched onto the sheets with one hand and brought them up to her face, covering it slightly. "Goodnight...Mako." She almost whimpered.


	2. No action

Stuck in the middle

_Korra's busy life as the young Avatar she is causes a rift between her and Mako. Which drives him back into the arms of Asami. Can they work this out or will Korra's duties overwhelm them?_

Chapter 2- No action.

Korra awoke the next morning feeling better about herself, she stretched and looked around her room, Naga was still fast asleep, so Korra changed and got ready for breakfast and then training with Tenzin.  
"Pema!" Korra greeted, as she watched her take out the breakfast plates for her family.  
"You're in a good mood this morning, Korra." Pema smiled back to her, she handed Korra some plates to take in, to which Korra obliged. As she walked into the dining room, she saw the entire family sat around the table, including new baby Rohan in a bouncer chair next to the table. As Pema joined them, Korra sat down and dug into her breakfast.  
"Looking forward to training, Korra?" Tenzin asked, knowing full-well what the answer would be.  
"Of course!" Korra beamed, sucking down her breakfast, "I'm going to nail this Air bending, so I can be the true Avatar!" As Tenzin's children cheered Korra's determination, he shrugged it off himself.  
"Of course, Korra." Tenzin encourage, before breaking it down. "But Air bending is your weakest skill, it involved time, patience, and using your spiritual side of bending." As Tenzin rolled off his usual talk about air bending, Korra nodded, although she wasn't truely listening, she was too excited that today would only consist of training, and then she could see Mako afterwards.  
"Whenever you're ready, Master!" She laughed, finishing off the last of her food before standing up from the table. The air bender sighed heavily, ignoring her antics and focused on finishing his own food, before even thinking about training. But Korra left anyway for the training grounds and began to prepare herself for the day.  
"I can do this." She breathed to herself whilst walking. "I can keep track of my life. I can work this out."

Asami woke up, there was a small window in the bedroom, allowing just enough light to let her know it was morning. She sat up in the bed and looked around, a bit disappointed that Mako actually left her alone all night. She stood up and began to walk out of the room, checking first if Bolin had gotten up. As she walked down the corridor, she noticed that Mako was alone, asleep on the couch. Without even a thought, Asami walked over to him and sat by his side, admiring him sleeping. Asami ran her hand through her hair, and as she heard a door from down the hallway open, she coughed loudly, attempting to wake Mako up.  
"Huh?" A dreary Mako muttered to himself sleepily, rubbing his eyes.  
"Hey, Mako? You up yet?" Bolin called out, as he checked his brothers room, he saw neither Asami or Mako in there. He pouted his lips, a bit annoyed at his older brother and continued to walk down the corridor until he saw Asami sitting up on the couch.  
"Asami?" Bolin said, confused to why she was still here, it wasn't a second later that Mako sat up from the couch too, running his hand through his bed-head. Bolin didn't know what to make of the situation, Asami seemed happy, a lot happier than last night. And well, Mako, he was with Korra, right?  
"Uh, has Korra came around?" Bolin asked, knowing full well that she hadn't, but just wanted to remind his brother of her.  
"Not that I know of." Mako replied, he looked over to Asami, a little confused to why she was there, so close to him, but he ignored her for now. He stood up and walked over to his brother who was standing the the corridor.  
"Korra wanted you to visit the air temple today, she wants to talk to you." Bolin told his brother, the expressionless Mako made a 'hmph' noise before passing his brother.  
"I'm going to shower." He announcing, leaving just Bolin and Asami in the room. Bolin pulled a stiff upper lip at her, unsure of what she wanted, but Asami just smiled back at him, fixing her hair.

"Are we done for today?" Tenzin called over to Korra. The pair had been practicisng air bending for hours on end, and Korra was deffinatly improving.  
"Sure." Korra replied, her heavy breathing affecting her talking, she couldn't manage a lot of words, she suddenly fell down onto the floor, catching her breath.  
"You did well." Tenzin told the young Avatar, "You are improving." He walked over to Korra and offered to help her up, but she waved his hand away and picked herself from the ground.  
"Thanks." She responded, with a smile on her face. She looked towards the temple, just thinknig that soon Mako should be arriving anytime soon, and she looked forward to finally spending time with him.

Mako had finished his time in the gym for today, his brother, Bolin, had came along to train with him, but there were hardly any words spoken.  
"Are you going to see Korra?" Bolin asked as the pair began to leave the gym, he picked up at towel as he headed out with his brother.  
"Of course." Mako replied, "We need to talk." Bolin flinched at those words. They were never good words.  
"Talk? Yeah, talking's good. Talking about how you miss her, that would be good." He ranted, and his little fire ferret, Pabu, jumped onto his shoulder. Mako didn't reply to him, but the pair proceeded to the attic where they lived.  
"Hey guys!" Asami cheered as the brothers entered the attic. A quick look around made them notice that Asami had made them a gigantic dinner to return from training to.  
"Oh wow!" Bolin hollered, running over to the food layed all perfectly on the table, but Mako wasn't too thrilled.  
"That food was meant to last us the entire week." He growled, before his brother tucked in, he stole the bowl from underneath him.  
"Oh, I'm sorry." Asami sighed sadly, "I didn't know. I just wanted to repay your kindness, Mako."  
"Yeah, Mako!" Bolin intruded "She's only trying to be nice." Bolin had a small mind, and was easily satisfied, he had almost forgotten everything he saw last night that made him worry. Nevertheless, Mako took half of the bowls away from the table, trying to save them.  
"I'd have to work back-to-back shifts to try and buy all this again." Mako complained, making Asami feel terrible. "I'm going to the air temple, to see Korra." And as Mako attempted to storm out, Asami called him back.  
"Wait, please!" She called out to Mako, making him stop. "Just...have some dinner first." She quickly picked up a bowl from the table and offered it to him. Mako couldn't ignore his growling and empty stomach, and some food seemed better than none of course. He walked back and picked the bowl from her, and as the pair sat down at the table they all began to eat.

"That was so good, Asami!" Bolin complimented loudly, Pabu slumped off his shoulder and onto the floor, obviously full too.  
"It was." Mako had to agree, for a once spoiled girl, she could seriously cook. Asami stood up and began to clear the table, listening to the pair talk about her magnificent meal, until she heard Mako stand up too.  
"It's getting late, I better head off now if I want to see Korra." But once again as he tried to leave, Asami called out to him again.  
"Mako, you should let your food settle!" She instructed him trying to stop him from leaving. "I mean, if you really wanted, we could go for a walk, that would help." Mako frowned over to her, he didn't know what she was up to, but he didn't really care either.  
"I was meant to meet Korra over an hour ago-" He began to tell Asami, but she interrupted  
"Travelling that far will upset your stomach. You wouldn't want that, not to waste the meal you've just eaten." Mako knew she was right, and he stopped leaving once again. Asami smiled in victory and walked over to him.  
"Come on, we'll go for a small walk. Together." She took her coat from near the door and held it open for Mako to walk through. The pro-bender drudged through it, leaving Bolin alone once again.  
"What's going on there..." Bolin pondered quietly as the pair left, but thinking wasn't his strongest point, and he was far too full too.

Korra had gotten herself ready for Mako to arrive, and as she stared out from the air temple, she knew it was growing darker.  
"Korra?" Ikki called out, as she walked towards her. "Is you boyfriend still not here? That wasn't very nice! He should be here by now!" She chatted on, but Korra wasn't in the mood for listening. A frown planted itself on her face. She knew he wasn't coming. The frown soon turned into a look of anger, as she stared across the water towards the pro-bending stadium.  
"Fine!" She exclaimed, crossing her arms "If he won't come to see me, I'll just go to him!"


	3. Apart

Stuck in the middle

_Korra's busy life as the young Avatar she is causes a rift between her and Mako. Which drives him back into the arms of Asami. Can they work this out or will Korra's duties overwhelm them?_

Chapter 3- Apart.

Mako awoke the next morning after his walk with Asami. They got back long after Bolin had fallen asleep, and once again Asami had taken his room. And yet again, she had begged him to stay. Mako was confused, after they had split up due to him loving Korra, Asami had estranged herself from him. They were friends, yes, but not the kind who see each other every day, and not without the awkward beginning. But the past few days had been great, as far as he was concerned. He was relaxed, less stressed and finally having a little fun.  
"Good morning." a voice called from the corridor, Mako clicked himself out of his daydreaming and sat up on the couch, only to see Asami standing before him.  
"Good morning, Asami." He replied, and the black haired girl invited herself to sit down next to him.  
"I had a nice time last night." She told Mako, pushing her arm slightly against his. Mako smirked half-heartedly back at her, still quite tired. "It's nice to get to know you again." She continued, making Mako smirk a little bit.  
"Me too." He finally replied, as he looked up to Asami, he saw a little blush on her cheeks before she looked away.  
"I'm going to shower." She announced to him, before leaving Mako alone. He couldn't help but watch as she walked away, he shook his head madly, trying to stop himself.

"Mako!" A loud voice hollered as the door flung open. Of course it was Korra. He quickly turned around to see her, but she didn't look happy at all.  
"Did Bolin ask you to see me yesterday?" She almost demanded from him.  
"Yes, but-" He tried to begin, but Korra intervened.  
"So why didn't you? It's not that, a small swim! You could have got the ferry!" She listed, but finally Mako got a word in.  
"I got...distracted." He bluffed, unsure on how he would handle the fact his ex-girlfriend had moved in with him. It reminded him that she was only down the hallway. "Maybe we should talk outside." He suggested, but Korra shook her head.  
"Don't you try to get rid of me, I'm not through with you." She sneered, taunting him with her finger, as Korra went to speak, a door from down the hallway opened.  
"Mako." A voice called out, and Asami wrapped in a towel walked down from just getting out of the shower. "Oh. Korra." Asami gasped, she wasn't shocked or embarressed, it was just unexpected. Korra's mouth dropped, she was so confused by what she was seeing.  
"Asami?" She questioned, although she knew it was her "How long has she been here?" The guest pulled her wet hair over her shoulder and toyed with it, before walking in Mako's room, leaving the two to quarrel.  
"She's only been here a few days." Mako tried to reassure Korra, but she was almost livid.  
"A few days? Why didn't you tell me she was moving in!" She fumed, eventually, Bolin was woken up to their heated discussion and he pulled himself from his bed.  
"Because I haven't seen you the last few days." Mako jabbed at her "You've been too busy for me."  
"Well what about yesterday?" Korra almost cried to him "I was waiting, and you never showed!" Bolin heard them arguing, as he stuck his head out of his doorway, he could just about make out Korra near the doorway, and he saw the hair of Asami floating into the hallway too. Obviously she was watching too.  
"I got...distracted." Mako pouted, looking away from his girlfriend. Korra tried to look him in the eye, but he kept it diverted.  
"Distracted? Oh, so it's not like you have Avatar duties!" She shouted, but this made Mako furious.  
"No, Korra." He started "I'm not the Avatar. But if I was, I could at least attempt to see my girlfriend and still handle my duties!"  
"So now the truth is out." Korra cried, crossing her arms in a mad state. "This is about me being the Avatar."  
"Not everything is about you, Korra!" Mako yelled, it was completely out of character for him, even Bolin watching from far away knew this was getting seriously out of hand. He stormed down the corridor in an attempt to stop them.  
"Hey guys." Bolin attempted to laugh to break the tension "Hey, Korra! Nice to see you. You're looking well, have you done something with your hair?" Bolin tried to distract them from each other, but it was pointless, the damage was already done.  
"Well maybe if you feel that way, we shouldn't be together." Korra pouted, holding back her tears. A shocked Mako and Bolin just watched as the Avatar walked out of their apartment, leaving them alone.  
"What just happened?" Mako managed to stutter out, he was so confused, were they together? Weren't they? He didn't know for sure.  
"I don't know brah." Bolin blinked, his fire ferret friend climbed up his body to join the brothers.  
Asami stayed in the background, in Mako's room. She had heard what had happened, but thought she wouldn't intervene, not yet at least.

Korra got back to Air temple Island in her quickest time ever, but she didn't return to Tenzin or the rest of his family. Instead she ran into the trees surrounding the temple. In her anger she cut down several trees with her new-found air bending skills, but when she was unable to control it she turned to earth bending, destroying the ground around her.  
Her polar bear-dog Naga heard the commotion and ran out to her from the temple, jumping in front of her in a bid to stop her rage.  
"Naga." Korra cried into her fur, as her furry friend comforted Korra, she couldn't think straight. Why was Asami there? Why did Mako really not see her? Was she over-thinking? Korra thought she probably was, but there was no hiding what she saw. Korra lifted herself onto Naga, wiping the tears from her eyes. She was still the Avatar, and her personal life wasn't allowed to interfere with that. But at the same time, she knew that was tearing her personal life apart. Friendship, family, love, everything. She looked up through the trees around her and straight into the clear sky, it was bright and warm, like nothing had changed. "Go, Naga. Back to the temple." She commanded Naga, pulling lightly on her reigns. "I have training today."

Mako had left the attic to go and train in the gym, he told Bolin not to come with him, he needed to release some steam. And as he shot plate after plate into the walls, he was obviously a lot of steam. He grunted as he worked his way through a large boxing bag, punching it hard.  
"Here you are." Asami called from the doorway. Mako jumped, he didn't hear anyone approaching, which was unlike him.  
"How did you know I was here?" Mako asked, before returning to his training.  
"Bolin told me." Asami admitted, her hands on her hips as she walked over to him. "Hope you don't mind." Mako didn't answer her, he just continued to work. The dark haired girl walked over to him, when Mako took a short break, Asami started to join in.  
"You're alright." Mako smirked to her, watching the slim yet strong girl punch and kick away at the bag.  
"Don't count me out just because I'm not a bender." She laughed, making Mako's lips twitch, he almost laughed too. As the pair pounded away in training, Asami began to ask him questions.  
"So was Korra okay with me staying with you and Bolin?" She asked, Mako stopped for a second, looking over at Asami, but he didn't answer, he just kept training.  
"If I'd have known she was there, I would have stayed in the bathroom. I probably caused trouble." Asami said, feeling sorry for herself.  
"No, it's not you." Mako finally responded "It's just..." He went to continue, but he just sighed and took his anger out on the bag.  
"Well at least you two are strong. You work through everything together." Asami complimented, but it pushed Mako over the edge, he didn't mean it ,but he accidentily torched the boxing bag, leaving a large black circle where he hit it. He walked away from Asami, putting his hands on the back of his head as he did so. Asami just watched as he sat down on a bench the other side of the room.  
"What's wrong?" Asami asked as she followed over to him, eventually sitting down next to him.  
"It's just-" He began, Mako turned to face Asami "Korra is always busy. We hardly see each other. We're just...growing apart." He admitted to her. Asami frowned at him, she was sad that they were having troubles, but she had never stopped loving Mako, and she would do almost anything to get him back.  
"Oh, I'm sorry." She replied to him, but Mako still looked upset. "I mean, you're a great person." She began to say, Mako looked up from the floor and at Asami, and with each compliment he felt a little better.  
"You're loyal, confident, funny, smart, charming." She rolled off her tongue naturally. As she noticed Mako looking up at her, she moved a little closer to him.  
"Any girl would be lucky to have you." Asami finished.  
"Really?" Mako naivishly smirked to her, squinting his eyes a little.  
"Really." Asami replied, and with that she leaned in to kiss him. As her lips touched his, Mako was in shock, his eyes wide open. He felt Asami's tongue dance on his lip, obviously wanted access to his mouth, but Mako pulled away from her.  
"I-I'm sorry." Asami stuttered madly, blushing the brightest shade of red.  
"I have to go." Mako told her, before he picked up his bag and left the gym, leaving Asami alone.


End file.
